Manchester United legend Roy Keane has taken a swipe at Anthony Gordon for his behaviour during Newcastle’s dramatic defeat to Liverpool on Monday night.
The Magpies fell on the wrong side of a Premier League classic at St. James’ Park as teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha netted a 100th-minute winner for the Premier League champions to steal all three points from Tyneside.
Eddie Howe’s side had shown incredible heart to fight back from two goals down in the second half, before heartbreak, and they did so with 10 men due to Gordon getting sent off just before half-time with the hosts behind 1-0.
With Newcastle chasing the game, Gordon raced to close down Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and erratically lunged in from behind, scraping his studs down the Dutchman’s achilles. Referee Simon Hooper initially only cautioned the 24-year-old for the infraction before a VAR review upgraded it to a red card.
Van Dijk was left with visible stud marks on his leg in the aftermath of the challenge, and Gordon was subsequently criticised by Magpies legend Alan Shearer on social media, who called the lunge ‘stupid’.
And now Keane has stuck the boot in, although not because of the red card, but for how Gordon acted when he was on the receiving end of a challenge.
Roy Keane has taken aim at Anthony Gordon for ‘rolling around’ against Liverpool on Monday
Keane took issue with Gordon ‘running around and kicking everybody’ and then falling over when he was fouled
Gordon was sent off for a nasty challenge on Virgil van Dijk in Newcastle’s 3-2 defeat
‘Isn’t football mad?’ said Keane, speaking on Stick To Football, brought to you by Arne. ‘Newcastle were kicking Liverpool all over the place, getting stuck in. There’s nothing wrong with that, physicality.
‘Then anyone touches any of the Newcastle players, and they were rolling around. Gordon is a prime example.
‘You look at Gordon and he falls over. Then he is running around kicking everybody, and apologising afterwards. I didn’t mean it. Well, what were you doing?’
Speaking following the game, Gordon insisted he had merely been attempting to raise the energy of the game and offered apologies to Van Dijk, his team-mates, and Newcastle fans.
‘I want to sincerely apologise to my team-mates and the fans.’ Gordon wrote on Instagram. ‘My intentions were pure. I was just trying to create energy in the game and I mistimed the tackle.
‘I also want to apologise to Virgil. I would never intend to tackle somebody like this on purpose. We spoke after and he knows that.’
The apology didn’t sit too well with Keane, who stuck the knife in further when the subject of Gordon’s challenge came up.
Keane continued: ‘Of course, it was a bad one. You know what’s what’s the point? What’s the point of apologising afterwards? Saying “Oh, I didn’t mean to do it,” it’s a bad one.’
Gordon’s three-match ban is sure to give Howe a selection headache, with Alexander Isak still refusing to play for the club as he attempts to force through a move to Liverpool.
The odds of that move went up significantly on Thursday night, though, as Newcastle agreed a £65million deal with Stuttgart for Germany striker Nick Woltemade.
Woltemade, 23, flew to Tyneside on Thursday night ahead of a medical, and there is an outside chance he is registered in time for his debut at Leeds on Saturday.
The move will bring a close to Newcastle’s summer-long pursuit of a striker and comes after a secret summit involving the club’s owners at Isak’s home on Monday failed to bring a resolution.
